If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Welcome to CycloneFanatic.com. I notice you haven't taken the time to register yet, now is as good of time as any:)

expectations...

ok before the season started, i was thinking we would dominate on offense but lose games because of our defense. seems like we only play good on one side of the ball in each game...

so here is what i think of our season so far. at QB, arnaud got off to a bad start throwing the ball, but has ran it well all year. he looked great against kansas! where does he go from here? at RB, well you all know how a-rob has been playing. if he stays healthy then we have a shot at scoring points against anyone! it still seems like we are not running the ball enough. seems like the coaches want to pass more than we should. i would give a-rob 32-35 carries per game when he is healthy. i'm still not sold on the spread offense as far as the passing game is concerned, but it works for our running style. WR... marquis has been our main guy. he's the most experienced, and he is a great route runner with good hands. jake williams has suprised us all. darks is a good route runner but needs work with his hands. he is still dropping passes. i would like to see the tight ends get more looks. catleet is good but i like franklin alot. havent seen much of him. the o-line has been amazing this year!.....

on defense, we have been alot better than anyone thought we would be. the d-line is pretty beat up, but they are a very tough group. chris lyle has stepped up and been playing some good ball. the linebackers, besides jesse smith, havent done all that great. the d-backs are inconsistent. good to see benton getting alot of playing time. he's the man!! we havent forced as many turnovers this season. hope to see some improvement there. special teams has been amazing! not seeing any fumbles on returns and thats huge. i like josh lenz as a punt returner. our kick return game has been solid. i think brandtner is the most under rated punter in college football. mahoney is a great kicker but has missed some xp's.

i think the 2 close losses could have been wins, but the cyclone curse prevents us from winning close games...

as a fan, here is what i would like to see for the remainder of the year...
better passing game. a-rob has been amazing without a passing game, but a good passing game will make a-rob even better. better route running and cut down on dropped passes. our offense looks better disciplined this season. we have improved on 3rd down conversions and there have been alot less penalties. i love that!!! on defense, i think we would be awesome if we could get pressure on opposing QBs. reesing tore up our secondary because he had alot of time to throw. with better pass rush, we would have a great defense. our d-backs can lockdown on the WRs but not for a long time. better pass rush would lead to more turnovers. with this, we could be a top 25 team! gonna catch some crap for that, but i think i am right. thats pretty much all i think we need to focus on.

another thought... our defense next season. shouldnt be discussing this halfway through this year, but we need some defensive recruits. all 3 starting linebackers are seniors. who can fill jesse smith's shoes? i think he is the best linebacker we have had in a long time. he's a smart player and a great tackler but lacks in speed and athleticism. our d-line will be losing some talent with chris lyle graduating. i hear that parker could be back next year, which would be huge but we need to get a solid pass rusher. we should be trying like hell to get wayne dorsey... ok thats it. sorry for the long post but i am bored and hungover like crazy. pretty excited about the future of isu football after the way we have played this year. even though we are 3-3, i think i have seen enough good play to make me a happy mofo... good times

Re: expectations...

While I would agree with most of what you have said, I don't think making Robinson carry the ball 25-35 times, especially with all the tough teams coming up during the last half of the season, is a particularly good idea. He is not big, not a power back, as Jerimiah is, and I think running him too often will lead to injury. AROB is a great runner, but he is more like that back for KU, Sharp, who, notice, has been out for several games now. Would not want to lose AROB for that long. On the other hand, we do need to develop that new offense, and that means more and better passing. Just my thoughts.

Re: expectations...

Originally Posted by demoncore1031

another thought... our defense next season. shouldnt be discussing this halfway through this year, but we need some defensive recruits. all 3 starting linebackers are seniors. who can fill jesse smith's shoes? i think he is the best linebacker we have had in a long time. he's a smart player and a great tackler but lacks in speed and athleticism. our d-line will be losing some talent with chris lyle graduating. i hear that parker could be back next year, which would be huge but we need to get a solid pass rusher. we should be trying like hell to get wayne dorsey... ok thats it.

I was thinking about next year too. The offense looks to be in great shape. I think we only lose 2 or 3 starters. The defense next year could be in trouble. We lose 7 starters not including Parker and of those 5 are in the front seven. Unless we can get some depth developed or get some juco's it might be more of the same next year on D.

All content owned by CycloneFanatic.com - All rights reserved 2005-09. By viewing this website you agree to the Terms of Service, Site Rules and Legal Disclaimer. The words, views, images and opinions expressed or provided by users do not reflect the opinions or views of CycloneFanatic.com or Iowa State University. The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing Iowa State University are trademarks and copyrights of the University protected by the trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America and other countries and are used on this web site under license from the University. Original site design, premise & construction by Jeremy Lind.